PGMania can be used as a image viewer and source images filter tool. It shows images or first frame of movie in preview, zoom or fit image, allows to navigate thru image list, filter it and delete images.

Building sequences of images

The program helps to rebuild sequence of image files and restore continuous order of files after they were edited, deleted, renamed or moved.

PGMania constructs movies from sequence of numbered images. She constructs image sequence based on selected type and file name template. Once the image sequence been set, PGMania builds movie from image sequence and can be used to concatenate several movies into one.

Creating video

PGMania can filter the source images and build movie with them. Also it is possible to build one movie from several parts by concatenating separate parts. It creates 16-bit AVI gray/color video files from images series, concatenates video files together into one video file.

By default PGMania builds 16bpp gray movies and use ffv1 lossless codec when you make movie. If you want to change the default codec used, then you need to edit codec name in parameters window to use it with your images when building movie.

You can change the codec name manually in parameters window to another one by typing it. You can make Raw video movie from image sequence too.

With Raw video the codec will be set by ffmpeg automatically, based on type of source images.

By default the PGMania's uses AVI container for movies but you also can change it to desired one (.mov, etc.).

The PGMania translates your parameters into internal FFMpeg commands, so changing the parameters and templates may help to achieve the desired results.

Used codecs by default: ffv1, rawvideo

Image conversion

PGMania can convert image files from one format to another. Supports batch converting operations for image sequences. Image formats can be any of well known image formats. The program reads and displays the most famous image formats.

It converts images and series of images, align and fit them with each other by defining a master image and calibrate a pair of images with the same subject.

Detecting stars

Program detects stars on the images and store in xml files operations history and detected stars statistics.

Screen modes

Supports 5 display modes, including fit to window mode, fit to width, 100%, and 3x Zoom. Also available "fit to screen" or "crop" mode to speed up align process.

Aligning and calibration

Separately, it should be noted rich functionality for handling captured series of images. Full cycle of manual/auto aligning and calibration deep sky images processing. The program can convert images, align them with each other on master frame base and calibrate a pair of images with the same subject.

When calibrating here is used an new algorithm for processing the pair of images with coinciding signal and with a difference of a noise. As a result we have to completely remove hot pixels, garbage and random noises from both calibrating images of a pair.

This drastically increases the signal / noise ratio. Pictures calibrated by this technology does not require additional processing and are immediately ready for stacking. For more info see Help (now in Russian only).

PGMania uses original algorithms for image calibration. All you need is two images with star fields (lights). No need for dark & bias files for calibration and fit images.

Color processing

The primary purpose of PGMania is operate with 16bpp gray image format (.pgm, etc). But it works well with many of known 8/16 bpp image formats.

Also PGMania can convert image files from one format to another. She supports batch converting operations for image sequence.

Image formats can be any of well known image formats. PGMania does not aims to operate with color as a whole. But in theory the PGMania can support any image formats thru ImageMagick and FFMpeg which it uses. So you can try to work with color on your own risk too.